Debates of Feb. 9th, 2017

Housing

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am not sure we were at the same parliamentary committee because the experts told us during the last three consultations that this had absolutely no impact on Toronto and Vancouver, even though it ought to have affected them. However, it did have an adverse effect on first-time homebuyers from coast to coast.

Yesterday, members of the Fédération des chambres immobilières du Québec were here and they told us that there were 6,000 fewer first-time homebuyers in Canada. We are talking about families, the middle class. That is $220 million less in the Canadian economy.

Why does the government continue to attack families and the middle class in Quebec and across Canada with its bad real estate measures?

[Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance]

Mr. Speaker, for many families, their homes are the most important investment that they will make in their lives. That is why we have taken action to contain risks in the housing market and support long-term affordability.

For example, the government has implemented a mortgage rate stress test to ensure that Canadians are taking on mortgages that they can afford even if the rates go up. The government also announced income tax measures to improve the fairness and integrity of the tax system.

Infrastructure

[Dianne Lynn Watts, Conservative, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Mr. Speaker, last week the parliamentary budget officer identified a shortfall of $9 billion for infrastructure. We know that 96% of the announced projects are not under construction. We know Alberta was promised $700 million in fast-track infrastructure funds over a year ago, and no surprise, Alberta is still waiting for over 90% of those funds.

When will the Liberals start taking the job crisis in Alberta seriously and fast-track the promised infrastructure funds?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, in 2012, the previous government approved four projects for Alberta, two projects in 2013 for Alberta and five projects in 2014 for Alberta. Compare that to 127 projects approved by our government for Alberta.

When it comes to building infrastructure, growing the economy, creating jobs for Albertans, we take no lessons from the old, tired Conservative Party.

[Kerry Diotte, Conservative, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities likes to boast about his project spending, but on this side of the House we know the devil is in the details. The fact is that things are just not being built.

According to the Government of Canada's own website, which is updated weekly, only one of 127 projects announced in Alberta by the Liberals has started construction. Nothing has started in Edmonton.

Another Liberal promise made; another Liberal promise broken. Why have these projects not started?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, the 127 projects I talked about leveraged $4.2 billion investment in partnership with the provinces and municipalities.

As far as Edmonton is concerned, we approved 47 projects under the new plan introduced in budget 2016. Those projects are helping us build better transit systems, reducing commuter time for Edmontonians, as well as creating Canadian jobs in local communities.

[Robert Aubin, NDP, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Mr. Speaker, according to the C.D. Howe Institute's recent study, the federal government could pocket up to $16 billion if it decides to sell our airports to private investors. The Calgary, Ottawa, and Vancouver airports and Air Canada are condemning this privatization plan because passengers and workers would be the first to pay the price.

Canadians have already paid for this infrastructure. Therefore, if the government really has their interests at heart, is it not time for it to reject this privatization plan rather than financing the government's friends?

[Marc Garneau, Liberal, Minister of Transport]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to airports, our first priority is service to passengers, whether it is in terms of cost, options, competitiveness, wait times at security or customs, or passengers' rights. We are exploring different options and everyone can rest assured that our first priority is and will always be service to passengers.

[Matthew Dubé, NDP, Beloeil—Chambly, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the government is looking at options, so it has not ruled out privatization, which is rather shameful. Airports are not the only infrastructure that the government is looking at privatizing. The Liberals promised to invest in infrastructure. We have been talking a lot about promises lately. As it turns out, the parliamentary budget officer, not the opposition parties, found that most of the infrastructure funding is not actually flowing.

Instead of keeping its promises, the government would rather set up an infrastructure privatization bank. Can the minister reassure Canadians and tell them that it is not planning to sell off our public infrastructure?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, out of the $180 billion that we will invest over 12 years in infrastructure, only 8% will be delivered through the infrastructure bank. The rest of the money is available to municipalities, the provinces, and the territories through the traditional means of national programs as well as bilateral agreements that we will sign with each province and territory.

I can assure the member that every community will be served in an equitable way to grow the economy and create jobs for the middle class and those who working so hard to be a part of it.

Public Safety

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as the Liberals push to legalize marijuana by 2018, many Canadians are concerned about the consequences of people driving while high. There are screening devices that detect the presence of drugs in the body, but they are not authorized for use under the Criminal Code.

Will the Liberals authorize the use of these devices before they introduce legislation, finally making the health and safety of Canadians a priority?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. gentleman may know, over the course of the last several weeks, the RCMP and other police forces across the country, in co-operation with the Government of Canada, have been testing a number of scientific devices for roadside testing of drug-impaired driving to determine their efficacy under Canadian weather conditions, including in the middle of the winter.

We will ensure that we have both the legal regime and the scientific regime to deal with drug-impaired driving.

[Alain Rayes, Conservative, Richmond—Arthabaska, QC]

Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police submitted a report that confirms how important and urgent it is for the government to give police forces the tools they need to deal with drug-impaired driving before it even begins to think about legalizing marijuana.

For my part, I took action by introducing Senator Claude Carignan's bill, which would allow police officers to detect drug-impaired drivers and thus save many lives.

Do the Liberals plan to make Canadians' safety a priority and support this bill before legalizing marijuana?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the government made it clear a number of months ago that we intended to have a new legal regime in place and that we would introduce legislation to that effect in the spring of this year. The work is proceeding along in that direction very well. We have the expert advice of the task force, headed by the Hon. Anne McLellan, and we will also weigh very carefully the good advice from the chiefs of police.

Health

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals ran on a promise to build consultation and social licence into their decision-making process when it had significant impact on local communities. However, it would appear that they are ignoring their own advice or promise in this regard in terms of drug injection sites.

Just today in committee, the Liberal members voted down my amendment to Bill C-37, which asked the minister to give 45 days public notice before rendering a decision.

Why are the Liberals afraid to give communities a voice in whether a drug injection site is in fact authorized for their community?

[Joël Lightbound, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to protecting the health and safety of all Canadians. The evidence is absolutely clear. In communities where they are needed and appropriate, harm reduction is an important part of a comprehensive approach to drug control. We put harm reduction back in as a pillar of our drugs and substances strategy. This is why we are proposing to streamline the criteria and process for supporting community applications in Bill C-37.

International Development

[Emmanuel Dubourg, Liberal, Bourassa, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie went on a second official visit to Haiti to view the impact of Hurricane Matthew and Canadian aid and to attend the inauguration of the 58th president of the Republic of Haiti, His Excellency Jovenel Moïse.

Canadian aid is important to Haiti. Could the minister update us on the matter?

[Marie-Claude Bibeau, Liberal, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Bourassa for his question.

I just got back from Haiti, where I attended the president's inauguration. I also toured two Canadian-sponsored projects, the hospital in Gonaïves and the national police academy. Yesterday, I announced an investment of $92.2 million over five years for five development projects focusing on the health of women and girls, child protection, and access to justice.

Our government is committed to supporting the new Haitian government, and I had an opportunity to talk about this with the new president himself.

Justice

[Rob Nicholson, Conservative, Niagara Falls, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today the Liberals introduced a bill that would give a break to human traffickers who committed multiple crimes. This is unbelievable. The bill says that people convicted of human trafficking would not have to serve consecutive sentences when they committed additional unspeakable crimes against victims.

Why are the Liberals always so worried about giving a break to criminals? Why do they not start sticking up for victims for a change?

[Jody Wilson-Raybould, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to combatting human trafficking and better protecting victims who are among society's most vulnerable.

Bill C-38 would bring into force the former private member's bill, Bill C-452, and also make it in compliance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The bill would give law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools in terms of investigations and prosecutions to assist in combatting this challenge.

Public Services and Procurement

[François Choquette, NDP, Drummond, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Translation Bureau does extremely valuable work to promote our two official languages, but over 400 positions have been eliminated over the past four years and there are plans to cut 140 more. Morale is at an all-time low, and bureau staff are under constant pressure.

Today the Minister of Public Services and Procurement announced 19 new hires, but that is nowhere near what is needed. Will the minister commit to putting an end to the cuts and to replacing every staff member who leaves the Translation Bureau?

[Judy Foote, Liberal, Minister of Public Services and Procurement]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to having a translation bureau that is productive and that produces quality. We are committed to making sure we have the employees we need to carry out the work expected of them.

We are also committed as a party to official bilingualism. We are taking extraordinary measures to make sure that happens with this government, including putting in a different chief executive officer, a quality officer, and we are going to hire more employees.

We are going to do what should have been done years ago. We are going to fix the wrongs of the past with respect to official bilingualism.

Infrastructure

[Francesco Sorbara, Liberal, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month I had the chance to announce the start of construction of a new inter-regional transit terminal in the city of Vaughan.

The Minister of Infrastructure and Communities has been advocating strongly for infrastructure investments that will grow the middle class and make a real difference day to day for families. The families in my riding appreciate investments in public transit.

Could the minister inform the House what he has been doing to ensure communities like Vaughan—Woodbridge benefit from much-needed investments in public transit?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge for his hard work on behalf of his constituents.

In December, we announced $46 million to support a new transit and carpool lot that would reduce congestion and get commuters home faster to spend time with their families. The York region will also receive additional funding under the long-term infrastructure plan, and the details will be announced very soon.

Our government is proud to support investments in the York region and across the country.

Government Services

[Phil McColeman, Conservative, Brantford—Brant, ON]

Mr. Speaker, during the last election the Prime Minister promised only modest deficits, but, alas, that promise was broken. Since then, Liberal ministers have been looking for ways to raise taxes on hard-working Canadians to pay for the Prime Minister's billions of dollars in broken promises.

We now learn that the President of the Treasury Board is planning to raise user fees, which is just a tax by another name.

Will the President of the Treasury Board tell Canadians which fees are going up, by how much, and when?